New Delhi:
The Prime Minister's friendly gesture towards former Telecom Minister A Raja - the man who's embarrassed the government and brought Parliament to a standstill - didn't fail to raise eyebrows.
At a DMK event, the Prime Minister was seen patting the back of A Raja.
"It sends a wrong signal," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said.
But the Congress tried to defend this encounter. "Personal relation is different - Raja has worked with PM for six long years," Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad said.
Meanwhile, inside Parliament there was no let up in the agitation for a parliamentary probe in the 2G case, and for the 9th consecutive day it was adjourned.
But the government could face for more embarrassment.
The Supreme Court, which took up the PMO's affidavit it had demanded on the 2G spectrum scam, asked the government to submit a second affidavit.
The court wants a list of all the cases against government servants that are pending in different courts, simply because they're awaiting the government's sanction for prosecution.
The Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) has the complete date. Ironically, on Monday, the court questioned the continuance of P J Thomas as the CVC as he's himself an accused in a corruption case.
The apex court has indicated that it may frame guidelines on how the government should deal with pleas by private citizens seeking sanction for prosecution of public servants embroiled in corruption cases.
The issue of sanctioning prosecution of a public official is key to the 2G hearing.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General argued that the petitioner, Subramanium Swamy's plea to seek the PM's sanction for A Raja's prosecution was misconceived and premature, and that he should have approached a court first.
While hearing of the 2G case in the Supreme Court will continue on Wednesday, the government may be fast running out of political options in Parliament.
"It's unfortunate but we'll keep talking," senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said.